The Birds of Zambia: A birder’s Paradise By curtsey of the Zambian Ornithological Society

If you’re interested to know something about birds of Zambia you first appreciate the country’s landscape. Zambia boasts large tracts of pristine wilderness. To a large extent the vast majority of Zambia’s avifauna is that of the Central African Plateau. The vegetation is principally miombo woodland. In a lot of places it’s bisected by grassy dambos along drainage lines.

In some areas other woodland types, dry forest or thicket replaces the miombo woodland. Along watercourses there may be riparian forest or wet evergreen forest in wetter areas of northern Zambia.

Among the birds of Zambia only one species is totally endemic to Zambia, the Chaplin`s barbet of fig trees in the Kafue basin. The black-cheeked lovebird`s breeding population is confined to an area in the southwestern Zambia. By February 2002 the Zambian Ornithological Society recorded 749 bird species but the search continues.

The Fish Eagle - Zambia's Emblem

The Miombo woodland is the dominant vegetation. It has little under growth and therefore is easy to walk through. The key to successful birding is in locating areas where birds of Zambia are found. So contact your safari operators to give you a list of some of the top birding destinations. Most of these habitats have a distinctive set of birds...

Bangweulu Swamps

The Bangweulu Swamps are found between Serenje on the Great North Road and Samfya town on the shores of Lake Bangweulu. The rare shoebill is found here.

Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage
is the world’s largest chimpanzees orphanage 60km west of Chingola. Chimfunshi run by the Siddles (David and Sheila) also nurse a host of other wildlife orphans. However, Chimfunshi is a great birding spot.

Lochinvar National Park is a few kilometres outside Kafue National Park but on the northern side of the Kaue River in the Kafue Flats. Kafue Flats is a large estate of wetland northwest of Monze town in southern Zambia.

Lochinvar is Zambia’s premier bird sanctuary and a great watching land for birds of Zambia. It’s considered the best wetland birding in the world with tens of thousands of waterbirds.

Birds 'Clouds' at Lochinvar Bird Sanctuary

These birds are slaty egret, wattled crane, common pratincole, white pelican, saddle-billed stork, denham`s bustard, yellow-throated sandgrouse, caspian plover and many palearctic waders and it’s very good for raptors.

Mwinilunga

Mwinilunga is in the far north-west corner of Zambia near the border with Congo. Birds from Congo are frequent visitors there. The source of the Zambezi River is in Mwinilunga at Kereni Hills. Within the vicinity are the Zambezi Rapids and Chitunta Plain.

Nkanga River Conservation Area is in Choma area in the Southern Province of Zambia. This is the best site for Zambia`s endemic, Chaplin`s barbet. It’s the gateway to the Victoria Falls, Kafue National Park and Lochinvar Birds Sanctuary.

South Luangwa National Park west of near Chipata in the Eastern Province of Zambia is the most popular national park for big game viewing. It’s camps and safari lodges are well renown for elegancy and comfort some extremely opulent.